Within the Traphagen School of Fashion was The Traphagen Museum. The founder, Ethel Traphagen (1882-1963), traveled the world collecting unique treasures and acquiring them for her museum. Several of the cases contained primitive weapons from Africa and North America. The majority still had the museum catalog tags on them. Bows, arrows, knives, and spears - even a blow gun!
While there was no information on why a school for fashion would have such a unique collection of primitive weapons, we were able to confirm they are from Traphagen through the museum ledgers which were contained in one of the boxes.
One of the finds was Lot 105. Native American Blowgun / Dartgun used by head-hunters of indigenous people of Ecuador.
Jivaro - The Headhunters of Ecuador
Deep in the rainforest that stretches across the eastern part of Ecuador and parts of Peru lives a tribe known as the Jivaro. These fearsome warriors were among one of the very few tribal groups anywhere in the world who successfully resisted conquest and colonization by European forces. The lands of the Jivaro were known to be a source of gold, and in the late 16th century the Spanish administration established a town in Jivaro territory as a base for gold mining expeditions. The governor of the region was cruel and greedy, and he placed a crippling gold trading tax on those Jivaro who fell under his purview. This soon sparked a revolt in which up to 25,000 people who lived in the town of Logrono were killed. The governor was captured by the Jivaro, who poured molten gold into his mouth until he died (one would assume quickly). Legends say, the Jivaro taunted him by asking “Have you had your fill of gold now?” - Source: Ecuador.com
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